Stuart Cohen is an energy system analyst with the Capacity Expansion & Electricity Markets Group in the Grid Planning and Analysis Center involved in a range of electric grid planning and analysis activities. Using the ReEDS electric sector capacity expansion model along with other models and datasets, Stuart has studied interactions between climate change, water, electricity, and the economy, and he has also studied the future roles of hydropower and carbon capture technologies in the grid.

Research Interests

Optimization of complex multisector, multiscale systems involving science, technology, economics, and policy

Interactions between energy, water, and climate change

Hydropower integration and optimization

Carbon capture and storage

Education

Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin

M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin

B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University

Professional Experience

Researcher, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (2012–Present)

Graduate Researcher, Teaching Assistant, and EPA STAR Fellow, The University of Texas at Austin Department of Mechanical Engineering (2007–2012)

Mechanical Engineering Co-op, Codonics, Inc. (2005–2007)

Associations and Memberships

Member, American Geophysical Union

Member, INFORMS

Featured Work

How Today's Hydropower Impacts Tomorrow's Grid: Counterfactual Scenarios Showing Grid Impacts if Hydropower Goes Away, NREL Technical Report (2023)

A Component-Level Bottom-Up Cost Model for Pumped Storage Hydropower, NREL Technical Report (2023)

A Multi-Model Framework for Assembling Long- and Short-Term Climate Influences on the Electric Grid, Applied Energy (2022)

How Structural Differences Influence Cross-Model Consistency: An Electric Sector Case Study, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2021)

Climate-Water Adaptation for Future U.S. Electricity Infrastructure, Environmental Science & Technology (2019)

Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) Model Documentation: Version 2018, NREL Technical Report (2019)

The Economic Impacts of High Wind Penetration Scenarios in the United States, Energy Economics (2018)

Exploring the Impacts of a National CO₂ Tax and Revenue Recycling Options with a Coupled Electricity-Economy Model, Climate Change Economics (2018)

A Review of the Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Bulk Power System Planning and Operations in the United States, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2018)

Hydropower Modeling Challenges, NREL Technical Report (2017)